Virginia is for Lovers: A Virginia Wedding at Castle Hill Cider Wedding Venue
A region steeped in American history, the Keswick community, where the 600-acre Castle Hill Cider estate is located, is a pristine image of rustic, upscale America. Two-lane country roads crisscross the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains connecting white fence farms with horse, cattle, and sheep pastures.
Originally built in 1764, the centuries-old estate was the home of Colonel Thomas Walker, who was a mentor to Thomas Jefferson. The estate features an 11,000 square-foot barn nestled among apple orchards, a pristine lake, and a view of the Southwest Mountains. Beyond historic preservation, the estate operates as a full-time cidery, growing, harvesting and pressing apples to make craft-brewed cider. The Barn at Castle Hill Cider serves as both a venue for special events and weddings as well as host of the cidery’s many tastings.
Couples can opt for indoor or outdoor ceremonies and wedding receptions. The Barn, a capacious congruence of bucolic and sophisticated design, offers stunning sunset views over rolling meadows and the Blue Ridge Mountains. A mahogany bar and working fieldstone fireplace sits on one side of the barn, and the large hall easily accommodates 200-300 guests. A catwalk grants access to the upstairs Loft, where guests can seclude themselves from the hubbub of the grand reception area. Beautiful French doors open from the catwalk to the Library, which has a fireplace and provides a vaulted vantage of both the estate and barn below. The Library doubles as a dressing room and sanctuary for the bride and her entourage.
Outside the Barn, following the aromas of cherry trees and wisteria vines, verdant lawns terrace down to the lake. Outdoor ceremonies enjoy all the pleasures of an untouched piedmont vista, including breathtaking sunsets and the Blue Ridge Mountain skyline. Only in the last two decades has land in the Keswick community and surrounding Albemarle Country been developed, and even that development, mainly second-home residences, has been done with a keen eye for conservation of the region’s natural beauty and scenery. John Rhett, general manager of Castle Hill Cider, planted the apple orchard with 600 trees of over 28 varieties, including the local variety, the Albemarle Pippin apple. The Albemarle Pippin has a unique narrative itself, traveling from the hands of George Washington to the lands of Colonel Walker in Albemarle County.
Eight miles east of Charlottesville, Va. Castle Hill Cider offers a centrally-located wedding venue for visitors in Washington, D.C., Richmond, Va. and Fredericksburg, Va..
As the high tide of wedding season approaches, couples and their friends and families will celebrate lifelong commitments to happiness and companionship in the pastoral escape of the Castle Hill Cider estate.
To book a wedding or for more information, visit the Castle Hill Cider Website or call 434-296-0047.
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